Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington ‘OK’ With Nu Metal Label

There was a time when nu metal was the big thing, and Linkin Park definitely thrived. But there was a quick saturation point with the genre, and the band, who may not have been a true definition of a nu metal act, were smart enough to evolve their sound and survive.

Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington says that while the group never quite embraced the label, he’s come to accept it over time. He tells Revolver (via ThePrp), “I think for the first time in our history, we’re actually OK with being recognized as a nu metal band, especially for what we did early in our careers, because the truth is that when we were first doing it, nobody else really was, especially in terms of the hip-hop thing.”

Reflecting on the past, Bennington says there were a few acts that had fused together hard rock and rap or funk like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Anthrax, but for the most part they had found a niche. He recalls, “There was, like us, and Limp Bizkit. And Limp Bizkit, they were f—ing awesome, dude! I don’t think there were any other bands fusing those sounds the way our band and their band was. But at the same time, it never felt like we were doing anything that was so ‘out there.’ We just felt like we were making music we wanted to make.”

The group definitely distanced themselves from the rap-rock sounds of their early years with their past two records, but have started to revisit a few of those influences while still evolving their sound on their latest effort, ‘Living Things.’